1,631 new cases of Covid-19 have been announced by the Department of Health this afternoon.
503 patients are now in hospitals with the virus here, with 101 of those now in ICUs.
67 further deaths as a result of Covid-19 have also been recorded in the Republic of Ireland in the past week.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan has said that Ireland’s Covid incidence is increasing at a “concerning rate” – he says the 7-day average of cases here is now at 2,043, up almost 1,000 cases a day on just three weeks ago.
Those figures come as an expert has said the Covid pandemic will continue until booster vaccines are brought forward to deal with variants.
Trinity College Dublin professor Kingston Mills says the issue is the Delta variant is harder to slow than the old virus strain – and says vaccines designed for new variants will be more effective…
